Republicans want Senate vote on pay-to-play reforms

Adriana Colindres

Thursday

May 17, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 17, 2007 at 5:22 PM

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Senate ought to act quickly on a couple of reform proposals that would help restore public trust in government, about a dozen Republican lawmakers said Thursday at a state Capitol news conference.

By ADRIANA COLINDRES

STATE CAPITOL BUREAU

SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Senate ought to act quickly on a couple of reform proposals that would help restore public trust in government, about a dozen Republican lawmakers said Thursday at a state Capitol news conference.

They accused Senate Democratic leaders of deliberately bottling up the bills. The House passed both measures earlier, which means the Senate’s approval would send them to the governor’s desk.

House Bill 1 and House Bill 3 “would fundamentally alter the pay-to-play atmosphere that continues to permeate the state of Illinois,” said Sen. Christine Radogno, R-Lemont.

Radogno has filed “motions to discharge” on the bills. If the Democrat-controlled Senate passes her motions, the chamber could debate and vote on the measures.

“He, and he alone, stands between the status quo of pay-to-play and some real reform here in Illinois,” she said.

HB1 would prohibit vendors with large state contracts from contributing to the campaigns of the officeholders who awarded the contracts. HB3 would create a searchable public database with information about any entity receiving state funding.

Cindy Davidsmeyer, Jones’ spokeswoman, said the Senate recently passed a separate piece of legislation similar to HB3. She added that Jones said he is working on an alternative to HB1 because it “doesn’t go far enough.”